Florida CFO Jeff Atwater Announces Workers' Comp Arrest

The president of a Panhandle construction company was arrested for falsifying payroll information to avoid workers compensation premiums, following an investigation by the state Department of Financial Services Division of Insurance Fraud.

Florida Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater announced the arrest of Randall Morton Seltzer, 43, president of Navarre Industries Inc.

Seltzer, a Gulf Breeze resident, was charged with multiple felony counts, including workers compensation fraud and grand theft.

According to a release from Atwaters office, Seltzer under-reported his corporations payroll to his insurance carrier, Guarantee Insurance Co.

Seltzer allegedly established a shell corporation in 2011 under the name Hip Roof & Valley Inc., to avoid two "stop workers" orders that had been issued by the state.

If convicted, he could face up to 30 years in prison and be forced to pay over $2.8 million in restitution.

Workers compensation insurance is vital to the health and protection of businesses and Floridas economy as a whole, Atwater stated in a release.

Just last week, the Legislature passed reforms that target schemes just like this one that are diverting a billion dollars from Floridas economy.